History of Architecture I Lect.
1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
History of Architecture I
Lecture 1. Introduction
Prepared By Tsegaye Kassa (lecturer)
Prepared by Tsegaye K., 2022 / 23
History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Introduction to History of art and Architecture:
• Introduces the history of fine artsARCH2271
(painting, sculpture and architecture) -
It focuses on buildings from technological, social, artistic, religious and political points of view in
order to create an understanding for the complex factors that shape architecture.
Students will be enabled to carry out case studies on historical buildings and themes.
• Brief history of art:
from prehistory to romanticism (19th century) world history of art,
impressionism, post impressionism, modern art, post modern introduces Methodologies of art
history, language of art, stylistic terminology;
Prepared by Tsegaye K., 2022 / 23
History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
History of Architecture I: Arch 2272
• Module Objectives:
An analytical account of the art and Architecture of the earliest civilizations. Pre-historic and
Mesopotamian, Egyptian; Greek and Roman, Indian, Chinese, Early Christian and Byzantine, Islamic,
Pre-modern African Architecture;
• Course Objectives & Competences to be acquired:
The course focuses on the architecture and urbanism of pre-historic and ancient civilizations
(Mesopotamian, Egyptian; Greek, Roman, Indian, Chinese, Islamic Architecture)
Medieval -18th century Europe (Early Christian and Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance,
Baroque and Rococo)
Prepared by Tsegaye K., 2022 / 23
History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
History of Architecture I: Arch 2272
• Course Description/ Content:
This course introduces students to the main buildings, cities, principles and architects of different world cultures.
It focuses on buildings from technological, social, artistic, religious and political points of view in order to create
an understanding for the complex factors that shape architecture.
This course covers the periods from ancient times to the beginning of the industrial revolution and the modern
movement in architecture. It aims not to go along chronological lines only but also draw references across
historical periods and cultures.
Students will be enabled to carry out case studies on historical buildings and themes.
• Teaching and Learning Methods: lectures, seminar;
• Attendance Requirements: 85%
• Assessment/ Evaluation and Grading System: quiz 1- 11%, assignment 1- 12%, assignment 2- 12%, mid exam-
25%, final exam- 40%;
Prepared by Tsegaye K., 2022 / 23
History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
History of Architecture II: Arch 3271
• Course Description/ Content:
This course introduces students to the main buildings, cities, principles and architects of the modern movement
from the late 19th century until the 1960s.
It focuses on the interrelation of industrialization and architecture and the technological, social, artistic and
political changes arising there from.
Students will be enabled to carry out case studies on buildings and themes of the modern.
• Course Content:
Rationalism, Industrialization and the Search for Principles: Neoclassicism, Romantic Classicism, Enlightenment,
MODERNISM, Chicago School and the invention of the sky-scrapper, Art Nouveau and Secession, Arts and Crafts/
Organic Architecture, The Werkbund, De Stijl, and the Bauhaus Avant-Gardes and Machine Aesthetic, Architecture
After Modernism, Post War Reconstructions Critical Reactions after 1960, Populist Movements, Postmodernism,
DE constructivism, Minimalism, Hi- Tech, Regionalism Ecological Approaches, Contemporary Architecture
Prepared by Tsegaye K., 2022 / 23
History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Ethiopian History of Architecture: Arch 3282
• Module Description:
This module introduces students to the development of vernacular, historic and modern architecture and
settlements in Ethiopia.
• Course Description/ Content:
Vernacular architecture and settlements
Historic architecture from Yeha to Addis Ababa
Urban architecture from pre-Axumite settlements to modern cities
• Course Objectives & Competences to be acquired:
• This course introduces students to the development of vernacular, historic and modern architecture and
settlements in Ethiopia
Prepared by Tsegaye K., 2022 / 23
History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Dictionary meaning of the word Architecture
architecture • n.
1. The art or practice of designing and constructing buildings.
>the style in which a building is designed and constructed.
Defining
2. The complex structure of something.
Architecture >the conceptual structure and logical organization of
computer or computer-based system.
Prepared by Tsegaye K., 2022 / 23
History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Architecture is Derived from:
Tectonic
s
Defining
Architectoni
Architecture
cs
Architect - from Gk arkhitekton - ‘chief builder’.
architectonic /adj.
1) relating to architecture or architects.
2) having a clearly defined and artistically pleasing structure.
Architectonics / n.
1) the scientific study of architecture.
2) musical, literary, or artistic structure.
Prepared by Tsegaye K., 2022 / 23
History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Subjective
Defining Architecture =Art + science of buildings
Architecture
Objective
Prepared by Tsegaye K., 2022 / 23
History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Defining Architecture =Art + science of buildings
Architecture
Prepared by Tsegaye K., 2022 / 23
History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Defining
Architecture
Prepared by Tsegaye K., 2022 / 23
History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Architecture:
The Art
• The product or result of architectural work: buildings, collectively.
And Science
Defining • A style or method of building characteristic of a people, place, or time.
Architecture Of Designing
• The profession of designing buildings and other habitable environments.
And Constructing
• The conscious act of forming things resulting in a unifying or coherent
structure.
Buildings
Prepared by Tsegaye K., 2022 / 23
History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
For Le Corbusier, “ Architecture is the masterly, correct and
magnificent play of masses seen in light”. For him Architecture
with a capital A is an emotional and aesthetic experience.
Defining
Architecture But if we restricted our definition of architecture solely to those
buildings that raised our spirits, then we would end up with
rather a short list.
Some view there is a clear distinction between architecture,
building and engineering, and architecture is seen as ‘art’,
whereas building and engineering are seen as utilitarian.
Prepared by Tsegaye K., 2022 / 23
History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
We are surrounded by Architecture which is unavoidable
Defining art.
Architecture Architecture is written record of human activities.
Architecture has the power to affect and condition human
behavior.
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Architecture is the art of how to waste space.
Philip Johnson, New York Times
Architecture is what nature cannot make.
Louis Kahn, Architect
Defining
Architecture is an art for all to learn because all are
Architecture concerned with It.
John Ruskin
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Architecture and Human
Environments
Architecture is a richly informative cultural artifact. Not only
it includes buildings, but also those which necessitated
substantial expenditure of energy and funds, but also self
built vernacular houses.
Defining It is understood to be the whole of the environment built
Architecture by humans, including buildings, urban spaces, and
landscapes.
architecture has the power to affect and condition
human behavior.
“We shape our buildings and our building shape us”
Architecture Environment
Prepared by Tsegaye K., 2022 / 23
History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Architecture and Human
Unlike other animals human beings shape their
Environments
environment consciously.
“Architecture is deliberate remodeling of
Defining human environment ”
Architecture
“Architecture is a conscious act, a reflective act, an
act that embodies countless decisions and choices.”
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Architecture and Human
Environments
“Architecture, painting and sculpture are called the fine arts.
They appeal to the eye as music does to the ear.
Defining
But architecture Is not judged by visual appeal alone.
Architecture
Architectural buildings affect all of the human senses-
sound, smell, touch, taste. and vision”.
-Forrest Wilson
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Elements of Architecture
Three basic elements of architecture coined by
Roman Architect Vitruvius.
Utility
Defining
Architecture
Firmness Beauty
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Elements of Architecture
“In architecture as in all other operative arts, the end must
direct the operation. The end is to build well. Well-building
has three conditions: Commodity , Firmness and Delight.”
Defining
Sir Henry Wotten: The Elements of Architecture. 1629
Architecture
Commodity
Firmness Durabili
Delight ty
Prepared by Tsegaye K., 2022 / 23
History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Elements of Architecture
The three basics also defined as Function, Structure
and Aesthetics.
Defining
Utility Function
Architecture
Firmnes Structure
s Aesthetics
Beauty +
Economy
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
What is Architecture? (additional definitions)
• Architecture is the art and technique of designing and erecting buildings, as distinguished from the
skills associated with construction.
• It is the practice of erecting physical structures where it is employed to fulfill both practical and
expressive requirements, and thus it serves both utilitarian and aesthetic ends.
• It is a practice where these two ends may be distinguished, while they cannot be separated, and the
relative weight given to each can vary widely.
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Natural and Social Contexts of Architecture
• Because every society – whether highly developed or less so, settled or nomadic – has a spatial
relationship to the natural world and to other societies (natural and social contexts), generally the
structures they produce reveal much about their:
Environment (including climate and weather);
History, ceremonies, ….Culture, and
Artistic sensibility, as well as many aspects of daily life.
Prepared by Tsegaye K., 2022 / 23
History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Characteristics of Architecture
• The characteristics that distinguish a work of architecture from other man-made structures are:
a. Its suitability to use by human beings in general and the adaptability of it to particular human
activities;
b. The stability and permanence of the work’s construction, and
c. The communication of experience and ideas through its form.
Prepared by Tsegaye K., 2022 / 23
History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Characteristics of Architecture
• All the above three conditions must be met in architecture.
• The second is a constant, while the first and third vary in relative importance according to the social
functions of buildings.
• If the function is chiefly utilitarian, as in a factory, communication is of less importance.
• If the function is chiefly expressive, as in a monumental tomb, utility is a minor concern.
• In some buildings, such as churches and city halls, utility and communication may be of equal
importance.
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Types of Architecture (uses)
• The types of architecture are established not by architects but by society, according to the needs of
its different institutions.
• Society sets the goals and assigns to the architect the job of finding the means of achieving them. The
uses of architecture is concerned with architectural typology, with the role of society in determining
the kinds of architecture, and with planning - the role of the architect in adapting designs to
particular uses and to the general physical needs of human beings.
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Types of Architecture
A. Domestic Architecture: Vernacular, Power, Group housing
• Domestic architecture is produced for the social unit: the individual, family, or clan and their
dependents, human and animal.
• It provides shelter and security for the basic physical functions of life and at times also for
commercial, industrial, or agricultural activities that involve the family unit rather than the
community.
• The basic requirements of domestic architecture are simple: a place to sleep, prepare food, eat, and
perhaps work; a place that has some light and is protected from the weather.
• A single room with sturdy walls and roof, a door, a window, and a hearth are the necessities; all else is
luxury.
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Types of Architecture
B. Religious Architecture: the Temple or Church, Shrines and memoria, Funerary art
• The history of architecture is concerned more with religious buildings than with any other type,
because in most past cultures the universal and exalted appeal of religion made the church or temple
the most expressive, the most permanent, and the most influential building in any community.
• The typology of religious architecture is complex, because no basic requirements such as those that
characterize domestic architecture are common to all religions and because the functions of any one
religion involve many different kinds of activity, all of which change with the evolution of cultural
patterns.
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Types of Architecture
C. Governmental architecture
• The basic functions of government, to an even greater extent than those of religion, are similar in all
societies: administration, legislation, and the dispensing of justice.
• But the architectural needs differ according to the nature of the relationship between the governing
and the governed.
• Where governmental functions are centralized in the hands of a single individual, they are simple and
may be exercised in the ruler's residence; where the functions are shared by many and established as
specialized activities, they become complex and demand distinct structures.
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Types of Architecture
C. Governmental architecture
• There are, however, no basic formal solutions for governmental architecture, since the practical needs
of government may be met in any sheltered area that has convenient space for deliberation and
administration.
• A distinct type is created rather by expressive functions arising from the ideology of the different
systems of political organization (monarchy, theocracy, democracy, etc.) and from the traditions of
the various offices of government (law courts, assembly houses, city halls, etc.).
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Types of Architecture
D. Recreational architecture: Theatres, Auditoriums, Athletic facilities, Museums and libraries
• Few recreations require architecture until they become institutionalized and must provide for both active and
passive participation (athletic events, dramatic, musical performances, etc.) or for communal participation in
essentially private luxuries (baths, museums, libraries).
• Throughout history, recreational architecture has been the most consistent in form of any type. Diversions may
change, but, as in domestic architecture, the physical makeup of the human being provides consistency.
• If his participation is passive he must be able to hear and to see in comfort. If his participation is active, he must
be given spaces suited to the chosen activity.
• In most cultures, recreational institutions have their origins in religious rites, but they easily gain independence,
and religious expression is reduced or eliminated in their architecture.
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Types of Architecture
E. Architecture of welfare and education
• The principal institutions of public welfare are those that provide facilities for education, health, public security,
and utilities.
• Some of these functions are performed by the church and the state, but, since their character is not essentially
religious or political, they may require independent architectural solutions, particularly in urban environments.
• A consistent typology of this architecture, however, cannot be established throughout history, because the
acceptance of responsibility for the welfare of the community differs in degree in every social system.
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Types of Architecture
F. Commercial and industrial architecture
• Buildings for exchange, transportation, communication, manufacturing, and power production meet the principal
needs of commerce and industry. In the past these needs were mostly unspecialized.
• They were met either within domestic architecture or in buildings distinguished from domestic types chiefly by
their size. Stores, banks, hostelries, guildhalls, and factories required only space for more persons and things
than houses could accommodate. Bridges, warehouses, and other structures not used for sheltering people
were, of course, specialized from the beginning and survived the Industrial Revolution without basic changes.
• The Industrial Revolution profoundly affected the typology as well as the techniques of architecture. Through the
introduction of the machine and mass production, economic life moved out of the domestic environment into an
area dominated by devices and processes rather than by individuals, creating the need for buildings more
specialized and more numerous than the total accumulation of types throughout history.
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Meaning in Architecture
• All buildings have the power to transmit ideas and emotions, whether or not the building is designed
to be ‘beautiful’.
• Architecture is building with meaning;
• Meaning in architecture can be conveyed in many different ways, for example through form,
materials, scale, ornamentation, signage and conventions and traditions.
• Meaning is not limited to indicating function (non-abstract, for example, a cross indicating a church)
but may be more abstract (for example, adopting the latest fashion to indicate wealth and status).
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Meaning in Architecture
• Ideas of beauty and meaning in architecture change according to place, time and the point of view of
the observer;
• The role of architectural history is to interpret the meanings of buildings and how the meanings are
conveyed;
• There are no right and wrong answers, interpretations are open to argument and must be supported
by reasons;
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Why do we Study History of Architecture?
• To understand technological, sociological, aesthetic, and artistic influences which determine our built
environment;
• To get an holistic knowledge about development of architectural language;
• To understand the inception and growth of towns and cities, and the influences that have shaped
their urban forms and their architecture;
• To study and understand the patterns and characteristics of human settlements and individual
structures built according to local traditions;
• To understand behavioral, social, and cultural factors in design.
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Hunting and gathering culture - also called foraging culture
• Any group of people that depends primarily on wild foods for subsistence. Until about 12,000 to 11,000 years
ago, when agriculture and animal domestication emerged in southwest Asia and in Mesoamerica, all peoples
were hunters and gatherers.
• Their strategies have been very diverse, depending greatly upon the local environment; foraging strategies have
included hunting or trapping big game, hunting or trapping smaller animals, fishing, gathering shellfish or insects,
and gathering wild plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, tubers, seeds, and nuts.
• Most hunters and gatherers combine a variety of these strategies in order to ensure a balanced diet.
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
prehistory • n.
1) the period of time before written records.
2) the events or conditions leading up to a particular phenomenon.
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Culture and Civilization
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Culture and Civilization
B. Civilization:-
• Advanced state of a society possessing historical and cultural unity.
• Historians often write of world history in terms of the development of civilizations defined by a
characteristic empire.
• The regions of Mesopotamia, Egypt (the Nile Valley), and the Indus Valley are three rich areas for
studying how people and ideas come together to create civilizations and empires. - Civilization is
transmitted primarily by writing.
• Stone age, iron age and bronze age;
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Culture and Civilization
B. Civilization:-
i. Stone Age
• Prehistoric cultural stage, or level of human development, characterized by the creation and use of stone tools.
The Stone Age is usually divided into three separate periods—Paleolithic Period, Mesolithic Period, and Neolithic
Period—based on the degree of sophistication in the fashioning and use of tools.
• Paleolithic archaeology is concerned with the origins and development of early human culture between the first
appearance of man as a tool-using mammal, which is believed to have occurred about 600,000 or 700,000 years
ago, and near the beginning of the Holocene Epoch, about 8000 BC. It is included in the time span of the
Pleistocene, or Glacial, Epoch—an interval of about 2,600,000 years.
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Culture and Civilization
B. Civilization:-
ii. Bronze Age
• Third phase in the development of material culture among the ancient peoples of Europe, Asia, and the Middle
East, following the Paleolithic and Neolithic ages.
• The term also denotes the first period in which metal was used.
• The date at which the age began varied with regions; in Greece and China, for instance, the Bronze Age began
before 3000 BC, whereas in Britain it did not start until about 1900 BC.
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Culture and Civilization
B. Civilization:-
iii. Iron Age
• Final technological and cultural stage in the Stone–Bronze–Iron-Age sequence.
• The date of the full Iron Age, in which this metal for the most part replaced bronze in implements and weapons,
varied geographically, beginning in the Middle East and south-eastern Europe about 1200 BCE but in China not
until about 600 BCE.
• Although in the Middle East iron had limited use as a scarce and precious metal as early as 3000 BCE, there is no
indication that people at that time recognized its superior qualities over those of bronze.
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
What is History of Architecture?
The history of shelters men have built for themselves and for their gods.
Architectural history is always a part, sometimes even the most important part, of history in general. Yet to
consider architectural history merely as a part of general history is to miss a great deal of its potential interest.
Despite the social, technical, and functional aspects of buildings - those that link architecture most closely to
other aspects of history — architecture also exists in the realm of art, more specifically of the visual arts.
It is the history of way of life: architecture is part of our personal history – we are born, we work and play, learn
and teach and worship, we sell and buy, try criminals, etc. in buildings.
It is the history of the rise, development and decadence of building techniques;
It is an expression of what men thought of life and death of each other and of their gods.
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Architectural Education
• Architectural Education is about learning to understand our human-made environment. It is
about architecture as a physical vessel, a container of human activity.
• But since architecture is a social activity, building is also a social statement and the creation of a
cultural legacy.
• Moreover, every building, whether a commanding public structure or a private shelter—whether a
cathedral or a bicycle shed—is constructed in accordance with the laws of physics in ways that
crystallize the cultural values of its builders.
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Architectural Education
• Hence, architectural education provides the understanding to the artistic urge that impels humans to
build, as well as to the structural properties that enable buildings to stand up.
• It is also an education to the silent cultural language that every building expresses. It, then, might be
thought of as a primer for visual environmental literacy.
• Architectural Education is about learning to understand our human-made environment. It is about
architecture as a physical vessel, a container of human activity.
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Understanding the History of Architecture
• Architecture is generally something people take for granted, moving toward it, around it, through it,
using it without a thought. It is simply there, an unassuming backdrop, a mute, utilitarian container.
• Architecture is much more, however; it is the crystallization of ideas. It has been defined many ways -
as shelter in the form of art, a blossoming in stone and a flowering of geometry (Ralph Waldo
Emerson), frozen music (Goethe), human triumph over gravitation and the will to power (Nietzsche),
the will of an epoch translated into space (architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe), the magnificent play
of forms in light (architect Le Corbusier), a cultural instrument (architect Louis I. Kahn), and even
inhabited sculpture (sculptor Constantin Brancusi).
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Understanding the History of Architecture
• More recently, architectural critic Ada Louise Huxtable framed a rather clinical definition, calling
architecture a “balance of structural science and aesthetic expression for the satisfaction of needs
that go far beyond the utilitarian.”
• The architect Louis I. Kahn wrote that “architecture is what nature cannot make.”
• Humans are among several animals that build, and indeed some structures built by birds, bees, and
termites, to name but a few, demonstrate human-like engineering skill in their economy of structure.
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Understanding the History of Architecture
• Architecture is the unavoidable art. Almost every moment of our lives, awake or asleep, we are in
buildings, around buildings, in spaces defined by buildings, or in landscapes shaped by human
artifice.
• It is possible to deliberately avoid looking at paintings, sculpture, drawings, or any other visual art,
but architecture constantly touches us, shapes our behaviour, and conditions our psychological
mood.
• The blind and deaf may not see paintings or hear music, but they must deal with architecture.
• Moreover, aside from being shelter or a protective umbrella, architecture is also the physical record
of human activity and aspiration; it is the cultural legacy left to us by all preceding generations.
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History of Architecture I Lect. 1, Introduction to the History of Architecture
Understanding the History of Architecture
• Since architecture is a social activity, building is also a social statement and the creation of a cultural
legacy.
• Moreover, every building, whether a commanding public structure or a private shelter—whether a
cathedral or a bicycle shed—is constructed in accordance with the laws of physics in ways that
crystallize the cultural values of its builders.
• Hence, architectural education provides the understanding to the artistic urge that impels humans to
build, as well as to the structural properties that enable buildings to stand up.
• It is also an education to the silent cultural language that every building expresses. It, then, might be
thought of as a primer for visual environmental literacy.
Prepared by Tsegaye K., 2022 / 23